Are you making one of these mistakes when you go out to eat? Here's how to avoid them and spare yourself a reputation as "that table."

Welcome to our weekly recap of Bravo’s Best New Restaurant*, where we share our unapologetically opinionated musings on the ups and downs of dining out. This week, we’re taking a look at episode no. 7: The battle between Miami's Buns and Buns and Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue.*

You can probably name at least one thing about dining out that totally annoys you. (And, if you're BA's restaurant and drinks editor Andrew Knowlton, you can name many.) It might be a bread basket that comes with rock-hard butter, a server who interrupts you in the middle of a conversation to ask if you're ready to order, or wine glasses that arrive with fingerprint smudges. But many people don't realize restaurant servers and cooks also have a running list of bad diner behaviors. The latest episode of Bravo's Best New Restaurant got us thinking about some of the biggest mistakes diners make without even realizing it. You're not guilty of these dining-out don'ts…are you?

1. Sending Food Back Because You Don't Like It

On the show's most recent episode, mystery diners sent back dishes at both Miami's Buns & Buns and Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue. The mystery diner at Buns & Buns sent back his egg soufflé because he said the dish was "crazy salty," implying it was borderline inedible. But the mystery diner at Morgan's sent back his mac-and-cheese simply because he didn't think it had enough "oomph" to it. Sure, there are a few instances in which it's absolutely appropriate to send back a dish—your chicken is undercooked, or the kitchen forgot to leave out the cilantro you're allergic to, or you find a piece of plastic in your food. But here's some straight talk: Don't send back a perfectly fine dish just because you didn't like it. If you're not sure how a dish is prepared, ask your server before you place your order. They'll be grateful you saved them a trip to the kitchen to explain that a customer sent something back for no good reason.

2. Saying You’re Ready to Order When You're Not

Asking your server questions is a good thing. What's not good: flagging down your server, claiming that you're ready to order when you haven't even made up your mind on appetizers. Chances are, your server is trying to tend to multiple tables at once. If they spend 10 minutes answering your questions, that's 10 minutes longer the table next to you has to wait for the salt and pepper they asked for at the beginning of their meal. So if you know you're going to have plenty of questions, just give your server a heads-up so they know they'll be spending a little more time at your table. You'll both have a better experience as a result.

Morgan's does authentic, Texas-style barbecue in the heart of Brooklyn. Photo: Paul Zimmerman/Bravo

3. Seating Yourself When a Host or Hostess Is Unavailable

In theory, a host or hostess should be greeting guests at the door 'round the clock during service hours. In reality? Things happen. If, for some reason, there's no one around, don't just seat yourself at the table of your choice. You may think you're doing the restaurant a favor, but it's more likely you accidentally took up a table they meant to save for bigger parties or was set aside for a reservation. This is especially true at smaller restaurants where there are only a few tables that can accommodate parties of more than two guests. Wait to be seated to save your server the awkwardness of having to ask you to move tables later.

4. Expecting Special Treatment Because You Know the Owners

Yes, knowing the owners of a restaurant can be a fun perk of going out to eat. It might mean a complimentary round of drinks for the table or free dessert, and that can make the experience feel a little more special. But respect the fact that your server is trying to provide great service to every table, and just because you have an "in" does not make your needs more important than those of the table next to yours.

Of course, avoiding these behaviors doesn't mean the front-of-house staff and kitchen won't also make mistakes here and there. In this episode of Best New Restaurant, we saw Buns & Buns lose an order ticket, which meant one table had to wait significantly longer for their food to arrive. But the front-of-house staff and the kitchen both worked quickly to get the food out, the diners were gracious and cheerful throughout, and no harm was done. Which is to say: Even when mistakes happen (and they will), being willing to meet your server halfway is the best diner behavior you can practice.

Best New Restaurant airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Catch up on our previous coverage here.